Atkinson Gazette
Room 203's Weekly Newsletter
What's UP in Room 203?
I hope you all had a great spring break! I had a fabulous time in Chicago and Milwaukee. This coming week will be a busy, yet fun one! We will have our very own Roopa Foley talking with your kids Monday for International Days. We will be busy preparing for Open House, which has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 24th. Let's have a great week!
Super Student: Laura
Pawsitive Panther for February - Service to Others: Margo
Academic News
Math
Before the break students were grasping the concept of perimeter. I taught them a song - you might ask them to sing it for you :) We started out by discussing that perimeter is the outside and how important it is to count EVERY side, especially those corners! We were able to practice this skill with the online geoboard. I gave the students a perimeter and they had to create a shape on their Chromebook with that perimeter. They loved this!
Monday we will pick with area. We will start with the basics of counting squares in a shape and then move on to using multiplication for our quadrilaterals. I plan to finish up this unit with a "Dream House" project which I know the kids will love!
Keep in mind, students will continue to have daily math homework to reinforce skills learned in class as well as Daily 6 Review on Thursday nights. Also, please please please continue to work multiplication facts at home. We will continue to have quizzes Wednesday's and Friday's.
Geoboard Perimeter
Geoboard Perimeter
Geoboard Perimeter
Language Arts
Your kids ROCKED their biography projects! All of their hard work really paid off. They truly learned so much about their person and ENJOYED IT! I think that's the most important thing.
Next week, we will turn our focus to media literacy and procedural texts. Believe it or not, media literacy is becoming a big skill for the STAAR test. Students may be reading an e-mail for a passage instead of a fiction story. It is our job to make sure they are aware of how to truly read a text like this. We will focus on the different writing conventions between emails to a boss vs. a text message to a friend. Students will be engaged in a mini webquest to explore the different techniques of media literacy.
We will end the week with procedural texts. These are recipes, directions, maps, etc. Again, these are things that can be seen on the STAAR test. Our kids need to be aware of how to read them and what their purpose is.
In our free time, we will be finishing up biography projects so they will be ready for Open House. We expect their entire books to be finished by Wednesday. With that being said, they will be given any free time in class to work on these. They will not be accessible after school hours. Most of your kids are finished, you may just check in with them to see their status.
Spelling
Before spring break, students reviewed our 2nd spelling pattern. We will continue to practice this pattern again this week and WE WILL have a test on Friday. I know we have been slacking on the spelling the past couple of weeks, but just know it's because we have been working hard on our biography projects. Since it is finished, we will now get back on track with their spelling patterns.
Just a reminder, that each spelling pattern gets added to Spelling City and students can practice them on there at any time. If you would like your child's log-in, please let me know.
Please remind your child that these words are not just to be memorized for the test on Friday's then forgotten. They need to be transferred and used in every subject, and most importantly WRITING!
Science/Social Studies
Genius Hour
We will be continuing our Genius Hour this coming week. Just a reminder that all students are not on the same page. Each child is on their own timeline. They are working to become experts in their own passion. I'm excited to see what's coming next!
*If you student is ready to start creating, make sure they bring their materials to class Friday so they are not wasting an hour. Many are choosing to do digital components, which is great, but some are needing poster board and other things. Make sure you discuss this with your child before this coming Friday.
Friday Reader
Teacher for the Day
News from Miss Atkinson's Class
A Delta Plane Skidded Off a Runway!
A Delta plane skidded off a runway at LaGuardia airport in New York last Thursday morning.
This was dangerous because the plane stopped feet from frigid waters. Four minutes after the plane landed, LaGuardia airport shut down to air traffic. Making LaGuardia shut down made air travel worse because planes from all over could not land at LaGuardia.
This is news reporter Jackson, live inside UP!
Important Dates
International Days
Friday, Mar 20, 2015, 05:00 PM
University Park Elementary School, Amherst Avenue, Dallas, TX, United States
Camp Read-A-Lot
Monday, Mar 23, 2015, 08:00 AM
University Park Elementary School, Amherst Avenue, Dallas, TX, United States
Open House
Tuesday, Mar 24, 2015, 05:30 PM
University Park Elementary School, Amherst Avenue, Dallas, TX, United States
About Miss Atkinson
Email: atkinse@hpisd.org
Website: http://up.hpisd.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=419982&type=u
Location: 3505 Amherst Avenue, Dallas, TX, United States
Phone: (214) 780-3400